Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: September 10 thru September 16, 2023

[aviax2]

DH and I got out earlier for me to get a blood draw for my upcoming Dr. appt., stopped by Lowes and found a set of throw rugs for the bedroom, couldn’t find what we needed for the back porch entry and gave the ceramic tiles a peek. On to McDonalds for a chicken & biscuit and coffee for me to have on the drive home. Ugh, it’s been a long time since I’ve had one of those and the “chicken” was like a large chicken nugget, the chopped pressed stuff not an actual piece of chicken. At least the coffee was decent but I still made some when we got back home.

It’s sprinkled a little off and on so far today but my oh my does the temperature feel wonderful! It was so nice walking through the parking lot at Lowe’s without feeling like you were melting right into the asphalt! I despise the heat of summer but I love autumn and I’m enjoying this early taste of it.

@SouthernBreeze That‘s amazing about the height and age of your tree.

I went through the blanket chest and the quilts and blankets in our closets yesterday. Sent a few home with grands, got the most of the rest into storage saving bags (granddaughter had a blast helping use the vacuum cleaner to pull the air out) and wow, what a difference. I put 2 king size quilts in less than half the space as one, back on the shelf. The rest of the blankets and another quilt fit in the blanket chest with room to spare. I still have one more blanket to do but ran out of the right size bags but I’m hoping I may have a few left from years ago in the basement. If not, I may buy some more and use some of them to store some fleece fabric in.

There is still so much left to declutter, sort, decide to keep, donate or trash. But each day I’m making progress whether it’s a lot or a little.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

There is still so much left to declutter, sort, decide to keep, donate or trash. But each day I’m making progress whether it’s a lot or a little.

We still haven't gone through all of our bookcases to declutter. It's got to be done soon, because with all of Cary's books coming in steadily, we are out of room to put them. He has resorted to just stacking them in the floor, and that doesn't work for me at all.

Once the bookcases are cleaned up, I'm going to start going through the house decluttering a lot of trinkets that have been given to us as gifts over the years. I'm only saving the items from Cary's mom that came from Germany with her when she moved here right after the war, all my candles, and the newer gift items. Frankly, I'm tired of having to take all this down and wash it by hand in order to keep it clean. I'm just getting too old to climb ladders with a bad knee to reach some of the shelves that a lot of this stuff sits on.

 

[aviax2]

We still haven't gone through all of our bookcases to declutter. It's got to be done soon, because with all of Cary's books coming in steadily, we are out of room to put them. He has resorted to just stacking them in the floor, and that doesn't work for me at all.

Once the bookcases are cleaned up, I'm going to start going through the house decluttering a lot of trinkets that have been given to us as gifts over the years. I'm only saving the items from Cary's mom that came from Germany with her when she moved here right after the war, all my candles, and the newer gift items. Frankly, I'm tired of having to take all this down and wash it by hand in order to keep it clean. I'm just getting too old to climb ladders with a bad knee to reach some of the shelves that a lot of this stuff sits on.

Amen sista! I have absolutely no business on a ladder with my knees/hips not to mention inner ear issues. I’ve never been big on many decorative type items anyway plus it’s just so much extra work having to keep it dusted and cleaned. Two years ago for Mother’s Day and my Birthday which is very close together, my DD’s wanted to know if there was anything I’d like. Well after doing childcare for our two grandsons before they went to school, our living room, kitchen and hall walls needed a fresh coat of paint so I told them we’d buy the paint if they wanted to help their Dad paint (they actually don’t hate painting as much as he does) so that’s what I got, their time and effort. The wall decor hasn‘t been put back up yet LOL! The only thing on my living room walls is a clock! It seems to really bother my mother that I don’t have everything magazine decorated but I’ve got other things to do instead of extra dusting and cleaning.

I don’t buy nearly as many books, especially physical books, as I once did but I’ve had many overflowing bookcases and have had to stack them on the floor too. A few years back I did a huge purge, let my DD’s have first pick, passed some onto my Son-in-laws grandmother and donated the rest to the Friends of the Library book sale. I’m planning on doing another purge of DVDs soon, we don’t have good internet so streaming isn’t an option and I refuse to step inside a theater anymore, so if something comes out that I’m interested in seeing, I wait until it comes out on DVD and the price goes down, patience is a virtue! The grandkids made out like bandits when they took the DVDs and a few books last time to trade in for McKay money that they then use for books or games.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Amen sista! I have absolutely no business on a ladder with my knees/hips not to mention inner ear issues. I’ve never been big on many decorative type items anyway plus it’s just so much extra work having to keep it dusted and cleaned. Two years ago for Mother’s Day and my Birthday which is very close together, my DD’s wanted to know if there was anything I’d like. Well after doing childcare for our two grandsons before they went to school, our living room, kitchen and hall walls needed a fresh coat of paint so I told them we’d buy the paint if they wanted to help their Dad paint (they actually don’t hate painting as much as he does) so that’s what I got, their time and effort. The wall decor hasn‘t been put back up yet LOL! The only thing on my living room walls is a clock! It seems to really bother my mother that I don’t have everything magazine decorated but I’ve got other things to do instead of extra dusting and cleaning.

I don’t buy nearly as many books, especially physical books, as I once did but I’ve had many overflowing bookcases and have had to stack them on the floor too. A few years back I did a huge purge, let my DD’s have first pick, passed some onto my Son-in-laws grandmother and donated the rest to the Friends of the Library book sale. I’m planning on doing another purge of DVDs soon, we don’t have good internet so streaming isn’t an option and I refuse to step inside a theater anymore, so if something comes out that I’m interested in seeing, I wait until it comes out on DVD and the price goes down, patience is a virtue! The grandkids made out like bandits when they took the DVDs and a few books last time to trade in for McKay money that they then use for books or games.

LOL. My problem is that I love to decorate. Too much it seems. I have told DS and DDIL not to buy me anything else for the house that is considered a decoration! Do they listen, NO. They still give me gift cards, but it's to the stores that sell mostly home decor. I'd rather have a gift card from Walmarts! At least, I could put it to good use.

 

[nomifyle]

I broke down and bought eggs today. I did get the Organic brown eggs for 5.82 for 18. I need to look and see if they are signed and numbered. Before DH came around I use to buy egglands best, although how do you tell which is best. And I'm also wondering if it really makes a difference if they are organic. One the one hand I don't really mind paying more for eggs if they are better and again how do you know.

DH has game cameras and I don't know why he wasn't putting one in the chicken yard, the disapearance of the chickens really did happen pretty fast. He has a large trap in there now. And he will get more pullets in the spring and in the mean time save money on feed. In a way it makes me feel vulnerable not to have our own chickens. I've asked around and other people are having issues with their chickens.

We did a small wm shop today. DH wanted to get a hair cut and the salon is now only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I wonder just how long it will actually stay open, that's the way they started the demise of the nail salon. It was handy to grocery shop and get a pedicure in the same shop.

So I'm starting my list for my next shop, I'll add a few more things than I did today. I wanted to get some otc cold stuff, but since DH was paying I put it off.

The weather is pleasant, even the high 80's feels comfortable. I went outside and petted the dog on the front porch and it was very pleasant. We can start having our coffee time out there now. DH calls it talkee time.

It was a relief not to have all that much to put away from the grocery shop. We are so blessed.

 

[aviax2]

@nomifyle I can tell the difference in color of the yolk, the yolk sits up high and firm as opposed to pale yellow, loose yolk and white that spreads out, like if you’ve ever had eggs that have gotten old, not to mention the taste. I would think the eggs you bought will be decent quality. As for the organic part, that always gets me tickled and shaking my head, wondering just how they know what every bug or even a mouse that chicken ate was eating organic LOL!

I understand how you feel missing your chickens. When we lost the last of our chickens back in the spring I was so upset I couldn’t even talk about it. Just told DH, no more chickens until we have a safer place for them. We used to have 2 Great Pyrs roaming around that earned their keep but now we don’t even have my little lap dogs that liked to run around and bark like they thought they were the size of a grizzly! We know a hawk got one of the hens while outside the pen area because DH was outside and saw it when it happened.

We’ve also had problems with raccoons, possums, coyotes and we’ve had a few bald eagles nesting really close by the past few years. Some have just disappeared not leaving a trace or much of one which makes me think something large enough to carry them off. Hence the new covered pen that’s almost finished, that will only have a human door leading into the pen area from inside the henhouse one less opening that anything can get into. He’s been holding off on that since he’s been seeing red wasps going under the siding until it’s cooler. Right now there’s only the chicken door leading out to the pen. I’ll feel much better once it’s all done.

With you loosing so many chickens in such a short time, makes me think of the possibility of two legged predators.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

That's possible. Around us, several people raise chickens and goats. The Mexicans will steal them right out from under your nose if you're not careful. It's happened several times in our community. No Mexicans live in our community, either, but a few times, they have been caught red handed.

 

[nomifyle]

I broke down and bought eggs today. I did get the Organic brown eggs for 5.82 for 18. I need to look and see if they are signed and numbered. Before DH came around I use to buy egglands best, although how do you tell which is best. And I'm also wondering if it really makes a difference if they are organic. One the one hand I don't really mind paying more for eggs if they are better and again how do you know.

DH has game cameras and I don't know why he wasn't putting one in the chicken yard, the disapearance of the chickens really did happen pretty fast. He has a large trap in there now. And he will get more pullets in the spring and in the mean time save money on feed. In a way it makes me feel vulnerable not to have our own chickens. I've asked around and other people are having issues with their chickens.

We did a small wm shop today. DH wanted to get a hair cut and the salon is now only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I wonder just how long it will actually stay open, that's the way they started the demise of the nail salon. It was handy to grocery shop and get a pedicure in the same shop.

So I'm starting my list for my next shop, I'll add a few more things than I did today. I wanted to get some otc cold stuff, but since DH was paying I put it off.

The weather is pleasant, even the high 80's feels comfortable. I went outside and petted the dog on the front porch and it was very pleasant. We can start having our coffee time out there now. DH calls it talkee time.

It was a relief not to have all that much to put away from the grocery shop. We are so blessed.

@nomifyle I can tell the difference in color of the yolk, the yolk sits up high and firm as opposed to pale yellow, loose yolk and white that spreads out, like if you’ve ever had eggs that have gotten old, not to mention the taste. I would think the eggs you bought will be decent quality. As for the organic part, that always gets me tickled and shaking my head, wondering just how they know what every bug or even a mouse that chicken ate was eating organic LOL!

I understand how you feel missing your chickens. When we lost the last of our chickens back in the spring I was so upset I couldn’t even talk about it. Just told DH, no more chickens until we have a safer place for them. We used to have 2 Great Pyrs roaming around that earned their keep but now we don’t even have my little lap dogs that liked to run around and bark like they thought they were the size of a grizzly! We know a hawk got one of the hens while outside the pen area because DH was outside and saw it when it happened.

We’ve also had problems with raccoons, possums, coyotes and we’ve had a few bald eagles nesting really close by the past few years. Some have just disappeared not leaving a trace or much of one which makes me think something large enough to carry them off. Hence the new covered pen that’s almost finished, that will only have a human door leading into the pen area from inside the henhouse one less opening that anything can get into. He’s been holding off on that since he’s been seeing red wasps going under the siding until it’s cooler. Right now there’s only the chicken door leading out to the pen. I’ll feel much better once it’s all done.

With you loosing so many chickens in such a short time, makes me think of the possibility of two legged predators.

Our chicken yard is pretty deep in the woods, although i mentioned that to Dh and he said he has seen lots of feathers around and he did see a cayote a week or so back. He has a lot of area fenced for the chickens to free range but may have to rethink that with a smaller flock. He does have a good bit of fencing in the chicken yard so he has something to work with in building an outside cage kind of thing, something over the top.

 

[ivantherussian03]

Tutoring daughter math has shown amazing results. Still waiting on fall testing results, but got 100 percent on figuring area on triangles, rectangles, rhombus shapes. We have been tutoring an hour four days a week for 8 weeks . We probably skewed fall upwards but last year’s teacher was so lame we knew we better work redressing problems.

 

[bluelady]

DH and I got out earlier for me to get a blood draw for my upcoming Dr. appt., stopped by Lowes and found a set of throw rugs for the bedroom, couldn’t find what we needed for the back porch entry and gave the ceramic tiles a peek. On to McDonalds for a chicken & biscuit and coffee for me to have on the drive home. Ugh, it’s been a long time since I’ve had one of those and the “chicken” was like a large chicken nugget, the chopped pressed stuff not an actual piece of chicken. At least the coffee was decent but I still made some when we got back home.

It’s sprinkled a little off and on so far today but my oh my does the temperature feel wonderful! It was so nice walking through the parking lot at Lowe’s without feeling like you were melting right into the asphalt! I despise the heat of summer but I love autumn and I’m enjoying this early taste of it.

@SouthernBreeze That‘s amazing about the height and age of your tree.

I went through the blanket chest and the quilts and blankets in our closets yesterday. Sent a few home with grands, got the most of the rest into storage saving bags (granddaughter had a blast helping use the vacuum cleaner to pull the air out) and wow, what a difference. I put 2 king size quilts in less than half the space as one, back on the shelf. The rest of the blankets and another quilt fit in the blanket chest with room to spare. I still have one more blanket to do but ran out of the right size bags but I’m hoping I may have a few left from years ago in the basement. If not, I may buy some more and use some of them to store some fleece fabric in.

There is still so much left to declutter, sort, decide to keep, donate or trash. But each day I’m making progress whether it’s a lot or a little.

Oh, good idea to use those bags for fabric! I went through my fabric to get it down to what I might realistically use . But it's still a lot, and I won't be sewing for a while. Would be nice to take up less space *and* be better protected. I hate to pay for anything but depending on how much they are I might get a few.

 

[bluelady]

@nomifyle I can tell the difference in color of the yolk, the yolk sits up high and firm as opposed to pale yellow, loose yolk and white that spreads out, like if you’ve ever had eggs that have gotten old, not to mention the taste. I would think the eggs you bought will be decent quality. As for the organic part, that always gets me tickled and shaking my head, wondering just how they know what every bug or even a mouse that chicken ate was eating organic LOL!

I understand how you feel missing your chickens. When we lost the last of our chickens back in the spring I was so upset I couldn’t even talk about it. Just told DH, no more chickens until we have a safer place for them. We used to have 2 Great Pyrs roaming around that earned their keep but now we don’t even have my little lap dogs that liked to run around and bark like they thought they were the size of a grizzly! We know a hawk got one of the hens while outside the pen area because DH was outside and saw it when it happened.

We’ve also had problems with raccoons, possums, coyotes and we’ve had a few bald eagles nesting really close by the past few years. Some have just disappeared not leaving a trace or much of one which makes me think something large enough to carry them off. Hence the new covered pen that’s almost finished, that will only have a human door leading into the pen area from inside the henhouse one less opening that anything can get into. He’s been holding off on that since he’s been seeing red wasps going under the siding until it’s cooler. Right now there’s only the chicken door leading out to the pen. I’ll feel much better once it’s all done.

With you loosing so many chickens in such a short time, makes me think of the possibility of two legged predators.

What cracks me up is when they proudly announce that their hens are vegetarian...LOL! Tells me they never see the light of day (where all the bugs are), and that I should purchase something else.

I don't do well with eggs, unfortunately, so Ibrarely eat them, but dh eats plenty. I get the best we can afford. Yes, you can definitely tell the difference!

 

[nomifyle]

I posted this in another thread by mistake:

I came to the thread this morning to post something and got side tracked with ejagno's post that I forgot what I was going to post. Maybe it will come to me.
Oh there it is. The ac has hardly been on for the last few days. Its 79 right now in my office and I'm comfortable. Here's hoping for a lower electric bill. When my electric bill came for last month it had what the bill would have been if I had been on an averaged bill. So instead of 485 it would have been 256. I did that for a couple of years but the average kept creaping up and then I'd have a large amount left at the end of 12 months and they'd average that out making my bill larger. I bit the bullet and paid it off and stopped averaging. There are some months that its so much lower and I like that, so no averaging anymore.
DH said he had to go out and do the feeding before it rained. He's got one chicken and the dog to feed, he may give the goats some corn. He turns a light on in the chicken house during the day for Daisy Mae, I decided to give her a name since its just the one chicken.

 

[nomifyle]

What cracks me up is when they proudly announce that their hens are vegetarian...LOL! Tells me they never see the light of day (where all the bugs are), and that I should purchase something else.

I don't do well with eggs, unfortunately, so Ibrarely eat them, but dh eats plenty. I get the best we can afford. Yes, you can definitely tell the difference!

Even if they eat bugs aren't they still vegetarian or am I confused.

Me, I love eggs, I consider them the perfect food.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Even if they eat bugs aren't they still vegetarian or am I confused.

Me, I love eggs, I consider them the perfect food.

We go through about 6 dozen a month, here. I'm trying to stick with the egg and meat diet with a few low carb veggies mixed in. I don't eat eggs every day, but they are a big part of the diet plan.

Cheese, bell peppers, and onion omelets with bacon tonight for my supper. Cary will also get his usual biscuits and hash browns with his.

 

[aviax2]

Even if they eat bugs aren't they still vegetarian or am I confused.

Me, I love eggs, I consider them the perfect food.

I think @bluelady is making the point that bugs aren’t vegetables. I’ve also seen them eat mice.

 

[nomifyle]

I have eaten as many as three for my first meal, but my diet said two per meal, so I cut back. And speaking of my diet I'm really struggling with it. I usually stir one egg up in a stir fry.

I've done an egg fast in the past but quickly got sick of just eggs.

We've got rain today, supposed to be 100% for about 4 hours, we'll see. Its gloomy looking.

SB we have a similar old oak in our yard. I tried to get the power company to take it down but they said it would be cheaper for them to repair the power lines than taking the tree down. The poor tree was suffocating with vines and DH cut them all down and now the tree is doing well. But it it fell down it would do some serious damage. No telling how old it is. It was over a hundred years since my great grand parents lived in this spot. I look out my office window and there are some seriously tall trees out there, I love looking at them. I'm so glad I passed on cutting them down for a few dollars.

 

[bluelady]

Even if they eat bugs aren't they still vegetarian or am I confused.

Me, I love eggs, I consider them the perfect food.

Well, since bugs are animals I assumed they wouldn't be considered vegetarian. But I just looked it up and apparently they sometimes are! But then I'm no vegetarian.

So apparently the big deal with vegetarian chickens is that there aren't animal byproducts in their feed. That's a good thing; animal byproducts are usually cr*p. However they replace them with soy and seed oils, which I don't think would be natural foods for a chicken.

Without getting too crazy into this, I guess maybe the best to buy would be pasture-raised?

Of course the best are home grown! I'm hoping we can get some next year. We have to clear the area for their run, and put it up...six chain-link panels, one with a door, that we bought from a friend. We're buying a little coop to put in it from a neighbor. The plan is to get it up for chicks in the spring; we'll see.

 

[John Deere Girl]

I think @bluelady is making the point that bugs aren’t vegetables. I’ve also seen them eat mice.

And frogs and snakes.

 

[20Gauge]

@nomifyle I can tell the difference in color of the yolk, the yolk sits up high and firm as opposed to pale yellow, loose yolk and white that spreads out, like if you’ve ever had eggs that have gotten old, not to mention the taste. I would think the eggs you bought will be decent quality. As for the organic part, that always gets me tickled and shaking my head, wondering just how they know what every bug or even a mouse that chicken ate was eating organic LOL!

I understand how you feel missing your chickens. When we lost the last of our chickens back in the spring I was so upset I couldn’t even talk about it. Just told DH, no more chickens until we have a safer place for them. We used to have 2 Great Pyrs roaming around that earned their keep but now we don’t even have my little lap dogs that liked to run around and bark like they thought they were the size of a grizzly! We know a hawk got one of the hens while outside the pen area because DH was outside and saw it when it happened.

We’ve also had problems with raccoons, possums, coyotes and we’ve had a few bald eagles nesting really close by the past few years. Some have just disappeared not leaving a trace or much of one which makes me think something large enough to carry them off. Hence the new covered pen that’s almost finished, that will only have a human door leading into the pen area from inside the henhouse one less opening that anything can get into. He’s been holding off on that since he’s been seeing red wasps going under the siding until it’s cooler. Right now there’s only the chicken door leading out to the pen. I’ll feel much better once it’s all done.

With you loosing so many chickens in such a short time, makes me think of the possibility of two legged predators.

Neighbor lost 8 to a Bobcat that just had a litter. It is known to happen with Bobcats. They stock food for their babies.

 

[20Gauge]

We just started on the 300 ft fence project. We got the end poles set and set one pole at the 100 ft mark. Then we made sure the string line for the first 100 ft of the 300 ft is level. We need to set a 2nd pole at the 200 ft mark and then level the entire string.

Then the fun of setting 27 more poles or something like that.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I have eaten as many as three for my first meal, but my diet said two per meal, so I cut back. And speaking of my diet I'm really struggling with it. I usually stir one egg up in a stir fry.

I've done an egg fast in the past but quickly got sick of just eggs.

We've got rain today, supposed to be 100% for about 4 hours, we'll see. Its gloomy looking.

SB we have a similar old oak in our yard. I tried to get the power company to take it down but they said it would be cheaper for them to repair the power lines than taking the tree down. The poor tree was suffocating with vines and DH cut them all down and now the tree is doing well. But it it fell down it would do some serious damage. No telling how old it is. It was over a hundred years since my great grand parents lived in this spot. I look out my office window and there are some seriously tall trees out there, I love looking at them. I'm so glad I passed on cutting them down for a few dollars.

We have 7 other huge oak trees in our yard. They all look healthy and aren't as old as this one. When we bought this place over 40 years ago, there were 2 other oaks as old as this one. They have already fallen! They were far enough away from the house that no damage was done. Just a lot of cleanup, and we had to hire someone to cut up the trunks and grind up the stumps. One of them fell the day after a tornado came close to us. That's what scares me about the one we're having cut, now. We get too many severe thunderstorms and tornadoes to leave it standing as old as it is. We also have a huge pecan tree and other old trees in our yard, too. Front, sides, and back. Mulberry, wild cherry, pine, and maple. We really do live in the middle of huge trees in the woods. Cary took some photos of it and our house this morning, so we would have before and after photos of it.

 

[John Deere Girl]

I'm almost done canning from the summer garden, so I'm probably going to can a bunch of jars of fries. My husband and kids love those as an occasional treat.

I need to go through the pantry and see what I should add for fall and winter. I also need to finish the last bit of Christmas shopping too.

I'm thinking about buying a sewing machine. I can hand sew, but I've never learned to sew with a machine, and I really want to learn. If anyone has any tips, I'd love to hear them, and any advice about a sewing machine is greatly appreciated! I'd like to keep it as simple as possible.

 

[John Deere Girl]

We just started on the 300 ft fence project. We got the end poles set and set one pole at the 100 ft mark. Then we made sure the string line for the first 100 ft of the 300 ft is level. We need to set a 2nd pole at the 200 ft mark and then level the entire string.

Then the fun of setting 27 more poles or something like that.

You have my sympathy! I'm going to be running more fence in the next week, and it's not my favorite job. Later this fall, I have two pastures to fence, and I'm dreading it.

 

[nomifyle]

I'm almost done canning from the summer garden, so I'm probably going to can a bunch of jars of fries. My husband and kids love those as an occasional treat.

I need to go through the pantry and see what I should add for fall and winter. I also need to finish the last bit of Christmas shopping too.

I'm thinking about buying a sewing machine. I can hand sew, but I've never learned to sew with a machine, and I really want to learn. If anyone has any tips, I'd love to hear them, and any advice about a sewing machine is greatly appreciated! I'd like to keep it as simple as possible.

For some reason I use to be afraid of a sewing machine and made many of my clothes by hand. The machine I started out with was a small machine and I loved it. Later I bought a regular size singer and love it, and unfortunately lost it in katrina. I replaced that one with a small machine in '06 and have never even plugged it in. It kills my back sitting at a sewing machine. But anyway that's how I started. At my age I really don't care anymore.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

It's been years, since I've sewn on my little portable Singer sewing machine. I just don't care to sew anymore, and my machine probably doesn't even work it's been so long, since it's been taken out and used. I can hand sew if it ever comes down to it. No electricity required.

 

[paxsim2]

Final tally for our okra is 15 quart bags breaded and vac sealed for the freezer plus several harvests for fresh eating. It was a new variety for us and very prolific.
I am doing a decluttering too. We want to be in the position to downsize when the opportunity presents itself.
Fall planting is on the schedule this whole week.
Doing as many laundry loads as possible over the next few days and washing blankets.

 

[kyrsyan]

I sew both by hand and on a machine, it just depends on the project. For some things, the machines makes it too easy to make mistakes. For others, the machine is worth using because it actually does speed up things and make them stronger.

First, if you buy a used machine, find a good local repair shop and take it in for a check up. It will save you a million headaches.

Second, if there are local fabric sources, reach out and see if they know anyone offering beginner classes. It is worth the investment to have someone that can walk you through the basics. If not, YouTube can be your friend.

Third, slow and easy. Get simple straight line patterns, like curtains. Stuff that you can practice on. Or honestly, take some scrap fabric, draw crazy lines, and practice stitching them. Just like for kids writing practice. Then start with a simple level project and move up. Experiment with different functions and pressure feet. Practice with different fabrics to see what your machine can/can't do.

And last, but definitely not least, buy a lot of needles in the sizes that you will normally use. My step one whenever a machine starts acting up is changing out the needle. You'd be surprised how many things that fixes. Step two is new thread unless the thread I bought is brand new. I now buy machine needles bulk on eBay.

I can't recommend machines because the machines I own are all very old and workhorses. They have spoiled me for modern machines.

 

[nomifyle]

I sew both by hand and on a machine, it just depends on the project. For some things, the machines makes it too easy to make mistakes. For others, the machine is worth using because it actually does speed up things and make them stronger.

First, if you buy a used machine, find a good local repair shop and take it in for a check up. It will save you a million headaches.

Second, if there are local fabric sources, reach out and see if they know anyone offering beginner classes. It is worth the investment to have someone that can walk you through the basics. If not, YouTube can be your friend.

Third, slow and easy. Get simple straight line patterns, like curtains. Stuff that you can practice on. Or honestly, take some scrap fabric, draw crazy lines, and practice stitching them. Just like for kids writing practice. Then start with a simple level project and move up. Experiment with different functions and pressure feet. Practice with different fabrics to see what your machine can/can't do.

And last, but definitely not least, buy a lot of needles in the sizes that you will normally use. My step one whenever a machine starts acting up is changing out the needle. You'd be surprised how many things that fixes. Step two is new thread unless the thread I bought is brand new. I now buy machine needles bulk on eBay.

I can't recommend machines because the machines I own are all very old and workhorses. They have spoiled me for modern machines.

I bought my singer in early 80's, it was a good machine and I had just had it repaired and it was sitting on the floor. A little higher and it would have survived.

 

[connie]

Simple Singer sewing machine. Over 50 years old now. Never had any problems. Used to sew clothes a bit. Made lots of curtains, decorative pillow covers , baby blankets, couple of small quilts. Nothing I need to sew these days.

My advice is to start with simple patterns. My mother was a beautiful seamstress and made all my dresses.
Its not that difficult to learn and a good skill to know.
I used to enjoy browsing in fabric stores. I really like any kind of textiles

 

[kyrsyan]

I hate porcelain berry. It is a bird gift from last year. I just spent time pulling a bunch of it. I've got a whole bunch more to pull. Ugh.

First coat of paint on all the interior supports for the garden storage. Second coat on most of it as well. I should be able to finish the last of the second coat tomorrow. And then it's putting the protection mixture on the bottom. Then cleaning the bamboo strips and staining them. This weekend is building the door frames to attach the bamboo to. The weekend after that is likely the decking that will be plant table.

How is it that I make it almost to the end of the project before I start getting paint all over me and my clothes?

I pulled and planted the pineberry plants that spread to the regular garden. They will survive or not. I just don't have the energy to stress it. Tomorrow that bed gets the custom cut mat pulled and regular landscape cloth put down. That is the future home for the garlic, which arrived over the weekend. I'm not willing to put that many holes in the custom cut mat. Garlic spacing is every 6". And those mats, made from old trampolines, did absolutely wonderful.

Then I start clearing out the cucumber/squash bed. That bed is becoming the fall/winter planting bed. I think when I sit down with the graphs, I can get most of the winter crops in there. With broccoli and brussel sprouts down the center, and cabbages alongside those, then greens and lettuces at the outer edges. It's surprising how much a 6x6 bed will hold using the square foot gardening methods. And it works.

I'm debating experimenting with a dissolvable tape to make seed strips for another bed. Carrots, rutabagas, radishes, turnips. My spine won't handle the bending to plant that much. But I found a dissolvable tape on Amazon. I think I'm going to use it to make the seed strips. Then I can just put the seed strips out and cover the bed with the frost cover. The tape dissolves with 30 seconds or more of water, so the first good rainstorm should handle that. If the ground moisture doesn't start dissolving it before them. And it will also help the seeds stay in place while ground moisture helps them sprout. Or not. It's an experiment. If it works, I may use it to do peas in the early spring.

I got the hooks to go in the garden storage area, and a large frost cover that should cover at least two, if not three garden beds. I'll order another if this one seems sturdy enough to survive a few seasons. If not, then when I raid the thrifts I will look for sheers and use them. I forgot about the hoses going into storage. I think I'm going to make sure they are rolled well and then tie them, so they don't spread all over the place.

This is all, of course, if my body doesn't shut down hard on me again.

 

[summerthyme]

A suggestion for planting wide rows of tiny seeds... it works especially well for carrots and lettuce, but you could modify it for larger ones like radishes and even beets (although I find beets easy enough to simply broadcast by hand). They sell "sugar shakers", for sprinkling powdered sugar on doughnuts, etc. I've used one nearly to death on carrots, lettuce, poppies and other tiny seeded plants which can be grown in a wide row or even filling a whole bed.

It doesn't take much practice to learn how much you need to shake on... practicing on a piece of newsprint or similar at first is helpful, though.

You can make your own with a wide mouth canning jar and one of the plastic storage lids they sell for them... drill appropriate sized holes in the lid.

I've also made homemade "seed tape" by spritzing cheap toilet paper with a very thin flour/water solution... barely dampening the surface... placing the seeds down the center, then applying a second layer of TP. Leave it to dry (the seeds won't be affected enough to start to sprout if you don't soak it), then you can loosely roll it up and unroll on your prepared soil. I rake a thin layer of fine soil off first, then sprinkle it back over the "seed tape" and mist thoroughly, keeping it moist until they sprout.

You can make similar wide row "tapes" with cheap paper towels. And you can do all of it sitting straight at a table which is comfortable height for your back!

The thin flour spray is a weak, organic "glue", which helps hold small seeds in place, as well as holding the 2 layers together until you can get them placed in the garden.

If you have a puppy... don't even try! The smallest corner sticking out will be too tempting!

Summerthyme

 

[patriotgal]

I'm almost done canning from the summer garden, so I'm probably going to can a bunch of jars of fries. My husband and kids love those as an occasional treat.

I need to go through the pantry and see what I should add for fall and winter. I also need to finish the last bit of Christmas shopping too.

I'm thinking about buying a sewing machine. I can hand sew, but I've never learned to sew with a machine, and I really want to learn. If anyone has any tips, I'd love to hear them, and any advice about a sewing machine is greatly appreciated! I'd like to keep it as simple as possible.

Saw a couple of nice machines in thrift store last week. They have areas where you can try them out. Some of them come with manuals. New simple machines are around $80 at local wally world.

 

[philkar]

A suggestion for planting wide rows of tiny seeds... it works especially well for carrots and lettuce, but you could modify it for larger ones like radishes and even beets (although I find beets easy enough to simply broadcast by hand). They sell "sugar shakers", for sprinkling powdered sugar on doughnuts, etc. I've used one nearly to death on carrots, lettuce, poppies and other tiny seeded plants which can be grown in a wide row or even filling a whole bed.

It doesn't take much practice to learn how much you need to shake on... practicing on a piece of newsprint or similar at first is helpful, though.

You can make your own with a wide mouth canning jar and one of the plastic storage lids they sell for them... drill appropriate sized holes in the lid.

I've also made homemade "seed tape" by spritzing cheap toilet paper with a very thin flour/water solution... barely dampening the surface... placing the seeds down the center, then applying a second layer of TP. Leave it to dry (the seeds won't be affected enough to start to sprout if you don't soak it), then you can loosely roll it up and unroll on your prepared soil. I rake a thin layer of fine soil off first, then sprinkle it back over the "seed tape" and mist thoroughly, keeping it moist until they sprout.

You can make similar wide row "tapes" with cheap paper towels. And you can do all of it sitting straight at a table which is comfortable height for your back!

The thin flour spray is a weak, organic "glue", which helps hold small seeds in place, as well as holding the 2 layers together until you can get them placed in the garden.

If you have a puppy... don't even try! The smallest corner sticking out will be too tempting!

Summerthyme

I use the toilet paper flour glue method and have not been disappointed!

 

[philkar]

John Deere Girl your sewing question made me go back in time to learning how to sew. My mom had a treadle singer that I learned to sew on! I love to sew! I don’t have the need that I once did but still enjoy it! While in college a suite mate taught me how to make underwear and I had the very best! Makes me laugh to remember all of that. And no I am not that old! Now I have a souped up machine but bet I could still use a treadle!

 

[kyrsyan]

I thought about the toilet paper and glue method. And then I thought about my son. Yeah. Not doing it. Odds are high that curiosity and playfulness would have a mess all over the place.

I order the tape I found on Amazon. Turns out that people have tried it for seeds and had success. Only complaint was seeds not germinating which quite possible wasn't the tape. Most used only the tape. A few mentioned that they also used Elmer's glue.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Just a reminder that I have 2 doctor's appts. today. I'll be gone for most of the day. Both are just for check-ups. I might have to have some tests done. I know I'll have testing done for the mac degeneration. Mom wants to go, too, so we'll be leaving extra early to pick her up. I think she wants to go to Sam's afterwards.

 

[nomifyle]

Been working in the kitchen, I let it kinda pile up again and while I've been at it I'm cleaning out a couple of upper cabinets. And i really need to tackle the one lower cabinet that I have. Except for what is right in the front I have no clue what;s under there. There are things in the upper cabinets that I never use, so some of it needs to go to the she shed. Just not ready to get rid of it yet.

I'm trying to find something in my office, but so far no luck. I use to be of the mindset that everything had a place and it needed to be there, I've fallen way down on that.

And then I was in the bedroom going through clean laundry that needs to be folded and put away and I found a few things I'd forgotten about.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I made it back in one piece! Good news from both doctors, but I'm tired. It's been a long day. Lots of testing and lots of bloodwork. I feel like I've been milked dry of blood, LOL. Some of the bloodwork has to be sent off for certain tests, so it will be a few days, before I hear back from those. My kidney function is still holding steady. My bladder still needs testing, but I'm going to wait on that a bit longer. Mac Degeneration specialist is still in awe that my MD has almost reversed itself to non-existent. She feels confident that the vision problem I'm having now is from needing new glasses, not the MD. God can and still does work miracles!!!!

It's good to be back home.

 

[philkar]

I made it back in one piece! Good news from both doctors, but I'm tired. It's been a long day. Lots of testing and lots of bloodwork. I feel like I've been milked dry of blood, LOL. Some of the bloodwork has to be sent off for certain tests, so it will be a few days, before I hear back from those. My kidney function is still holding steady. My bladder still needs testing, but I'm going to wait on that a bit longer. Mac Degeneration specialist is still in awe that my MD has almost reversed itself to non-existent. She feels confident that the vision problem I'm having now is from needing new glasses, not the MD. God can and still does work miracles!!!!

It's good to be back home.

Good news indeed!

 

[alpha]

Today we had our 8kW generator serviced in preparation for not only hurricane season but for Winter in general. We lose utility power for several hours about once every two weeks so it had plenty of hours on it since its last annual maintenance.
Canned up 9 more pints of green beans and put away about one bushel of potatoes and turnip in the root cellar today, plenty more to come as we get another break in the rain next week. It's nice to see light at the end of the tunnel as harvest season slows down but now I have to psyche myself up to processing five turkeys next week.